5.29 Song - Feminist Country

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-ninth day of the month is "Song."

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I'm not saying anything new by mentioning this, but the role of women performers in country music in 2023 is pretty sad. If you turn on country radio, there are so many men singing, but it's quite rare to hear a female voice. Also, what the men are singing about is repetitive and sometimes a tiny bit offensive to my feminist heart. My husband has a '90s Country playlist that Apple Music has curated for him and I frequently call it the '90s Women Country playlist and the last time I called it that, he just sort of laughed. It's because there ARE women on it, as opposed to what's going on now.

I bring this up as I spent some time curating a Spotify playlist of feminist country songs and I started with these ladies and their hits from the '90s because I was a teenager during this time, so of course these are the songs that resonate with me the most.

Wynonna Judd - "I Saw the Light" (1992) - So take your cheating hands off my red dress/Cuz I ain't wearing this thing for you - Preach it, girl. Tell him how it is. 

Lorrie Morgan - "What Part of No" (1992) - Sir, if you don't mind I'd rather be alone/From the moment I walked in tonight/You've been coming on/If I've told you once I've told you twice/I'm just here to unwind - You tell him, Lorrie. The first time my husband heard this song, he was really shocked. This was played on the radio? Yep. Number one on the singles chart in February 1993. IMAGINE.

Mary Chapin Carpenter - "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" (1992) - When she was thirty-six she met him at their door/She said, "I'm sorry, I don't love you anymore" - Is this one of the best breakup songs ever written? You decide.

Pam Tillis - "Let That Pony Run" (1993) - She got a divorce and a chestnut horse/And a barn with an old hayloft - Maybe this is the best breakup song? (Have we talked about how we went to a Pam Tillis concert once and I started following her on Instagram and she liked a photo of Hannah once and I AM DEAD over here because Pam Tillis once spent .5 seconds thinking about my darling pooch?)

Tanya Tucker - "Tell Me About It" (1993) - Somebody lowered the boom on you/Now you need a sympathetic ear - I really didn't know just how good I had it in the '90s, did I? You all! This song is a banger! We all know that "Two Sparrows in a Hurricane" (1992) and "Delta Dawn" (1972) are Tucker's best songs, though, right?

Patty Loveless "Blame It On Your Heart" (1993) - Blame it on your lying, cheating, cold deadbeating, two-timing, double-dealing, mean mistreating loving heart - Honestly, this song is amazing.

Martina McBride - "Independence Day" (1994) - Talk about your revolution/It's Independence Day - I will maintain that McBride has one of the best voices in country music and her ability to write songs about domestic violence and the role patriarchy plays in the destruction of families and relationships is unbeatable. "A Broken Wing" (1997) delves into similar themes of abuse/child abuse and while I don't like that the answer is suicide in both cases, I do like that McBride really advocated for domestic violence victims in a time when it was difficult to do so. 

Trisha Yearwood - "XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl)" (1994) - Got a picture of her mama in heels and pearls/She's gonna make it in her daddy's world/She's an American girl - Trisha Yearwood is not always my jam, but I rock out to this one.

Terri Clark - "Better Things To Do" (1995) - I don't need to waste my time/Crying over you/I got better things to do - That's right, Terri. There are so many things you could be doing instead of fretting over that guy.

Shania Twain - "Any Man of Mine" (1995) - Any man of mine'll say it fits just right/When last year's dress is just a little too tight/And anything I do or say better be okay/When I have a bad hair day - I mean, who here disagrees with Shania?

Faith Hill - "I Can't Do That Anymore" (1996) - I used to dream about what I could be/Last night I dreamed about the washing machine - I really feel like this song is in conversation with "He Thinks He'll Keep Her."

LeAnn Rimes - "One Way Ticket" (1996) - I will face the world around me/Knowing that I'm strong enough to let you go/And I will fall in love again/Because I can - I am a Rimes fangirl, too, so it's no surprise that I struggled with which song to use here. Shoutouts to "Big Deal" (1999) and "Probably Wouldn't Be This Way" (2005), too.

Mindy McCready - "Guys Do It All The Time" (1996) - So I had some beers with the girls last night/Guys do it all the time - I mean, sure I prefer songs in which women are better than men, but I like how this song demonstrates a double-standard. 

The Chicks - "Wide Open Spaces" (1998) - She needs wide open spaces/Room to make her big mistakes/She needs new faces/She knows the higher stakes - I might argue that The Chicks did their best works in the 2000s with "Goodbye Earl" in 2000 and "Not Ready To Make Nice" in 2006, but I listened to the Wide Open Spaces album on repeat in my dorm room, so I am not here to say that the 1990s didn't provide me with great Chicks content.

Deana Carter - "Did I Shave My Legs For This?" (1997) - I bought these new heels, did my nails/Had my hair done just right/I thought this new dress was a sure bet/For romance tonight - Another album that made it into repeat in my dorm room. 

Jo Dee Messina - "He'd Never Seen Julie Cry" (1997) - Thought he'd outrun her like the others/Leave her somewhere down the line/But then again he'd never seen Julie cry - I am a HUGE Messina fan and between this song and her remake of Dottie West's "Lesson in Leavin'" (1999), I was immediately hooked on her as an artist. 

SHeDAISY - "Little Good-Byes" (1999) - Took your favorite Dodgers cap/Left the litter, but I took the cat - Ha ha ha!! I had forgotten how GOOD this song is. Snappy and earwormy and hilarious. 

You know what's number one on country music charts this week? Morgan Wallen, he of racial slurs and non-apologies. 

For fun, I added a handful of other songs to this list that aren't from the 1990s, mostly because I feel like Loretta Lynn should get some airtime.

Lesley Gore - "You Don't Own Me" (1963) - You don't own me/I'm not just one of your many toys/You don't own me/Don't say I can't go with other boys - How amazing is it that Gore was just seventeen when she performed this song? 

Dolly Parton - "Just Because I'm A Woman" (1968) - Yes, I've made mistakes/But listen and understand/My mistakes are no worse than yours/Just because I'm a woman - With this song, "9 to 5" (1980), and "Why'd You Come In Here Looking Like That?" (1989), Dolly has to be on this list. Fun fact: "9 to 5" was the first song the DJ played at our wedding reception. I did not request this, but I LOVED it.

Linda Ronstadt - "Different Drum" (1974) - I think this is when she was with the Stone Poneys? I can't tell. Anyway. I love the line "All I'm saying is that I'm not ready for any person, place, or thing to try to pull the reins in on me." Go, girl.

Loretta Lynn - "The Pill" (1975) - This incubator is overused because you've kept it filled/But feeling good comes easy now since I've got the pill - I LOVE that Lynn wrote a song about how sexual and reproductive freedom that came with the birth control pill. I also love SO MANY OF HER SONGS, including "Fist City" (1968), "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)" (1966), and "Miss Being Mrs." (2004).  

Okay, I was going to keep going, but I ran out of time. There are fifty songs on the playlist and if you're the kind of person who is really upset that bro country continues to rule the airwaves, check it out.